Summary:In its nature and structure, the book has always been
interactive. However, the paper does not deal with the primary interactivity of books. In the mid-20th century, new
types of books appeared which required a different,
completely new, dynamic way of reading. The new book has
appeared which offers new opportunities. Although this
approach was a surprise to readers, the book's new nature was
in accord with everything that was happening around it – the
society of the spectacle. The earliest interactive books were
stories which involved the reader in their creation – the socalled
gamebooks (in which readers could choose among
several possible endings). They were followed by interactive
books for children, lift-the-flap books, tactile books, soundcreating
books, books that smell when rubbed, etc. Along with
being interactive, the book has also become a toy. With the rise
of desktop computers, and, subsequently, laptops, and the
expansion of computer and network activities, the book was
transferred into that domain. At first, it was the electronic
book whose underlying structure was the same as that of
today's Internet pages (hyperlinks). As technology has
developed, via interaction through animation and lavish
illustration, the book has turned into an application.
Nowadays, the book is a form of multimedia content, which
alters the linear reading into parallel and multidimensional
reading. The question arises whether this constitutes a new
future of the book or merely another form/dimension of the
book, where the reader will be able to choose the preferred
form.